


Tony's Furry Little Problem

by Era_Penn



Series: imaginetonyandbucky fills [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fill, Full Moon, M/M, Pining, Tony Feels, Werewolf, accidental reveal, imaginetonyandbucky, prompt, secretly a werewolf!Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 09:46:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6279610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Era_Penn/pseuds/Era_Penn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Imagine Tony can change into a wolf, and is forced to change on the full moon so always finds some way to get away, whether it's a business trip or something else, and he's afraid to tell Bucky because he's scared of what he'll think and Bucky walks in right before Tony is forced to change and Tony freaks out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tony's Furry Little Problem

Tony sighs, staring around the barren room. Normally he goes for something a bit higher end, but this is shorter notice than usual, and he doesn’t want attention. The desk attendant hadn’t even given him a second glance when he checked in, baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. He’s used this hotel once or twice before; the same person works the front desk, and the same people clean the rooms. It smells strongly of mildew, especially to Tony’s heightened pre-moon senses - though he has a very good nose regardless. The dingy, faded walls make him wince at the terrible color, and he isn’t even going to touch the frayed bed.

He used to spend the full moon in his own rooms at the tower. Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey came and went, filling his space with the comforting scent of pack. They laughed at his posturing, ran fingers through his fur.

Of course, James Barnes just had to come along and ruin everything.

* * *

Tony doesn’t generally tell people he’s a werewolf. Most people (Howard) react badly. Usually very badly. Violently. Pepper and Rhodey claim that if Tony wasn’t such a sweetheart under all his posturing, it wouldn’t be a problem - after all, werewolves have teeth. Tony refuses to acknowledge the theory. It’s ludicrous; he’s very frightening.

Still, sometimes he wishes Hollywood had been a little nicer to werewolf mythology, because he may lean a little more on instinct, but Tony certainly isn’t mindless at the moon. It’s the only time he _has_ to change, but not the only time he does. He’s probably nicer as a wolf, honestly, since he can’t really talk. 

Because people (Howard) tend to react so badly, he doesn’t even consider telling the Avengers when he invites them into his tower. He and Pepper arrange business meetings over the week of the full moon, every month, and that’s it. Simple, easy solution that does not lead to hunting. Tony gets itchy about the invasion of his territory for a while, but as the Avengers hang around more, Tony’s wolf decides they are pack, and that makes things much simpler. Everything settles into a neat balance, and Tony doesn’t say a word to anyone, though Clint raises an eyebrow at Tony over some of his eccentricities. 

“Tony?”

“What can I do for you, Steve?” Tony asks, drawn out of his thoughts.

“I…” Steve says, and just sort of gestures at the door. James Buchanan Barnes is sort of lingering there, gaping around at Tony’s holograms in a vague awe. Dummy, noticing the new person, chirps and makes a beeline for him even as Butterfingers and You cower. Tony feels a smile tug at his lips; Dummy probably thinks James is a robot too, with his arm and all. Still…

“Dummy, don’t frighten our guest,” Tony says gently. Dummy stills a few feet from the door.

“Hey, there,” James says, holding out his metal arm. Dummy instantly ignores Tony’s orders and shoots forward, chirping happily and dropping a ball in James’ arm. James sort of frowns at it for a moment.

“He wants you to throw it,” Tony tells him.

“What is he, a puppy?” James jokes, tossing the ball and watching with no small amount of glee as the little robot goes skittering after it.

“More like a toddler, honestly,” Tony says, sharp eyes cataloguing dents and the slightly jerky motion of the arm. A werewolf toddler, anyway, he adds to himself. “Hey, want me to take a look? Is that actually hurting you? Does it -”

“Tony,” Steve sighs.

“Ooops, sorry, I get carried away.”

“Mind if he stays in the Tower?”

Tony shrugs. “What did you think the empty suite on the other half of your floor was for? Seriously? I knew he’d come around eventually.”

“Thanks, Tony,” Steve says.

Tony is distracted again though, because James is giving him this lost look filled with something like he thinks maybe Tony hung the moon. Tony inhales deeply and - _oh_. Okay then. 

James Barnes smells _amazing_. Like metal and leather and mint and pine. 

_Mine_ , Tony’s instincts growl. And just like that, Tony decides James is pack, though that doesn’t seem quite right, and a new routine is developed. Whereas with the other Avengers Tony had to get used to them in his territory, and still refuses them free access to his workshop (den), James just slides right in like he belongs.

* * *

“Mr. Barnes requests entry, sir.”

“Yeah sure, let him in.” Tony blinks at his own easy acquiescence, as he always does when James asks to come in, but goes straight back to work. James comes in, Tony scents him, but he doesn’t say anything and he just settles comfortably on the edge of Tony’s senses. It isn’t until hours later, after they’ve chatted a bit and James is gone, that Tony realizes the significance.

“I am so fucked,” he says.

“I’m sorry, sir?”

“It’s nothing Jarvis,” Tony says. What he’s thinking though is a giant mass of panic. His instincts hadn’t settled on James as pack. They’re telling him James is a potential mate.

And Tony knows there is no way James will ever consider Tony for a mate. Tony is a werewolf, and James doesn’t know, which is problem number one. Problem two is that Tony is… well, Tony. He’s a borderline alcoholic who hates water, refuses to let anyone hand him anything, and generally makes a nuisance of himself. He cracks inappropriate jokes at the worst times, pokes fun at things that can kill him, really isn’t good at loving people, and goes so over the top with gifts and things that his desperation for people to like him is incredibly obvious. He almost dies on a weekly basis, disappears into his workshop (den) for days at a time, only to stumble out smelling bad, starving, and literally on the edge of collapsing from exhaustion. He has nightmares so bad that even if he does work to collapse he probably won’t get more than four hours sleep, abandoning his partner to sleep alone because he just can’t face his own subconscious. He also is covered in horrific scars and he’s not getting any younger. Tony, Tony is aware, is a piping hot mess.

James, though. James is amazing. He makes everyone laugh at all the right times, and he brings Tony food when he’s been working too long. James makes amazing steak. He also has the body of, well, a super-soldier. He’s intelligent, good with cars and mechanics, and is quickly picking up more than basic engineering skills just watching Tony work. James has nightmares, sure, but he has much better reason than Tony. He’s got a temper, but he never takes it out on people. His favorite color is yellow, and his favorite fruit is strawberries. He likes being up high; he’s a sniper like Clint, so of course he does. Not to mention James is just kind to everyone he meets, on an individual level.

Yeah, Tony thinks. There’s no way he’ll ever get someone like James, even without the werewolf thing.

* * *

“Tony, this is getting ridiculous. Why don’t you just tell the poor man you’re in love with him instead of burying him alive in new tech?”

Tony winces, and closes the hologram, his latest project for James’ use. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Pepper raises an eyebrow. “Jarvis, give us percentages on the amount of work Tony does related to each Avenger.”

“Belay that,” Tony tries, but Jarvis displays the statistics anyway. Sure enough, forty percent of Tony’s Avenger’s related work goes to things for James. He doesn’t spend even half that on Iron Man, these days. “This proves nothing,” he says.

Pepper moves from annoyed to glaring.

“I can’t,” Tony says.

“Tony.”

“He doesn’t know,” Tony mumbles. “And I can’t.”

Pepper’s eyes soften. “Tony, he’s not going to care. He’s just as in love with you as you are with him.”

Tony snorts. Suuuure.

Pepper sighs out through her nose. “Tony.”

“Pepper.”

“Fine, but when you’re miserable because you can’t get over it, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Tony smiles at her sadly. “Have I ever?”

“You do deserve him, Tony.”

Tony turns back to his work.

“Will that be all, Mister Stark?”

His lips tilt up a little. “That’ll be all, Ms. Potts.”

Her heels tap away, and Tony ignores the ache in his chest, focusing on the new tracer he’s designing to stick to the back of the front tooth. He’s using an adhesive and trying to find a way to make it easily removable and/or swallowable for the purpose of keeping it hidden. James would probably be able to use it undercover… Natasha and Clint could too, of course.

Tony sighs and drops his head down onto the desk. Pepper’s right, this is posturing at best, and outright courting at worst. Why is it always him?

“Tony?”

Tony yelps and jumps, spinning in his chair and raising his arms in classic Iron Man stance instinctively. He relaxes at once when he identifies his visitor. “Jesus, James!” he groans. 

James raises and eyebrow, lips twitching. “Jarvis did tell you I was here. Three times. What’s got you so distracted, genius?”

“Nothing, just considering the logistics of a swallowable, tooth-adhesive tracker that activates when swallowed.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s… you need sleep.”

“Do not.”

“Tony, you haven’t slept in two days.”

“So?”

“Haven’t eaten either. I made blueberry pancakes.”

Tony perks up despite himself.

“With bacon.”

Nope, not convinced. He’s still staying right -

“And coffee.”

Tony’s sold. “Well what are you waiting for?” he demands, stalking up the stairs. James laughs behind him and follows. Tony’s completely distracted, and mostly forgets his conversation with Pepper.

Then the week of the full moon rolls around, and Tony realizes his schedule is basically clear.

 _Pepper_.

* * *

Tony is pretty sure James can tell that something is wrong. The other man is trying to linger in Tony’s space again, which normally he never did. Tony’s instincts are really pleased by this, but logic is telling him that there is no way James likes them back, so chill.

It’s not proving very effective.

“Tony, are you okay?”

“What? Yeah, I’m fine.”

James hesitates. “You seem… anxious.”

Tony forces himself to laugh lightly. “Me, anxious? I’m sorry, have we met?”

James gives him a pointed look. “Yes.”

“Seriously, it’s fine, just a minor issue in R&D setting me a bit on edge. No big deal.”

James gives him a long look, and Tony silently prays that James will drop the issue.

“...Fine.”

Tony nods. Tomorrow morning at approximately eight he’ll become a wolf, and remain in his wolf form for the following twenty-four to thirty-six hours. He’s going to check into a hotel tonight, just to be safe. After that, he’ll be able to brush aside the anxiety for at least another month with no risk of James discovering his furry secret. 

As soon as James vanishes up the stairs, Tony lets out a sigh of relief. “Shut everything down, J,” he says. “I’m going out.”

“Of course, sir,” Jarvis says, managing to sound disapproving. “Shall I call a car?”

“Nah, I’m going to catch a cab. Less easy to trace,” Tony says.

“Of course, sir.”

“I’ve gotta do this, J. I don’t… I am afraid of them finding out.”

Jarvis’ reply is much gentler after the admission. “As you like. I shall inform the team you have plans, if they ask.”

“Thanks, Jarvis.” Tony makes his way up to his room. Twenty minutes later, clean, wearing a hoodie and baseball cap, and carrying a duffel packed in advance, he catches a cab behind the building.

He steps out of the cab in front of one of his least favorite places on the planet. The hotel is a crumbling, ancient structure. No one asks any questions about the tenants, and none of the tenants would answer if they did. Normally he goes for something a bit higher end, but this is shorter notice than usual, and he doesn’t want attention. The desk attendant doesn’t even given him a second glance when he checks in, baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. He’s used this hotel once or twice before; the same person works the front desk, and the same people clean the rooms. It smells strongly of mildew, especially to Tony’s heightened pre-moon senses - though he has a very good nose regardless. The dingy, faded walls that greet him when he opens his room make him wince at the terrible color, and he isn’t even going to touch the frayed bed.

If he didn’t have to worry about James learning his secret, Tony would be at the Tower, surrounded by his pack and their familiar scents, or in a luxury hotel room on the other side of the world, reveling in lavender. As it is, though, he figures his only hope of ever actually dating James lies in his ability to keep this part of himself a secret. Staying in a cheap hotel with dubitable sanitation is a small price to pay.

Tony tosses his duffel in a corner and unzips it. He has a few packs of raw steak chilled at the bottom, and he pulls them and a plate free, opening the packs. It is harder to get to packaged meat without opposable thumbs than most people would imagine. Next, he pulls out a few thick blankets, layering them on the floor in a sort of nest. He leaves his spare clothes in the duffel, and stepping onto the blankets, tosses his shoes in as well for good measure. Wrapping himself up in his blankets, Tony yawns. Roughly forty hours and he can go home.

* * *

“Tony. Tony, wake up.”

Tony grumbles and blinks his eyes open. “What,” he asks James, who seems… taller than normal. 

“Why the hell are you staying in such a shithole? On the floor, no less.”

“Well, I wasn’t touching the bed,” he says, before he registers what James is saying. His eyes widen. “What time is it?”

“I dunno, like seven fifty?”

“Go away.”

“What?!”

“Go away!” Tony demands. He moves to sit up, glaring at James. Any minute now and Tony will have a lot of explaining to do, and probably lose any chance he may have hoped to have with James Barnes.

“No! You’ve been avoiding me all week - what’s wrong? Are you dying again, because -”

“No, not dying. Just go away.”

“That’s not happening until you explain why you suddenly hate me!”

Tony’s glare drops away. “What? I don’t hate you. Why would I hate you?”

“That’s what I want to know! I thought we were fine, but then you started disappearing and running off to shitty hotels -”

Tony feels a familiar prickle run up his spine.

“-Pepper just shakes her head, and no one else noticed anything either! It’s -”

“You need to leave,” Tony says, cutting him off. “You need to leave, can’t a guy have any privacy anymore, dammit -”

“Tony - _oh my god what the hell_.”

Tony tries a sigh, which comes out more like a whimper. The change is quick, almost immediate; it starts with the fur racing up his spine, his only warning, and then everything happens instantaneously. 

Well, that pup’s out of the bag, Tony thinks, tail hanging low and ears flat against his skull as he backs against the wall, away from James. He can smell everything; the sweat on the back of James’ neck, the three different oils used on the arm, even faint traces of the dyes in the star on the shoulder. He can scent the woman in the room next door, can tell she’s pregnant and terrified. He can definitely smell the steak he’ll be having for lunch.

The smells are so amazing, paint the world so vividly, that Tony never minds losing the color in his vision.

James is still. He is gaping at Tony, teeth showing. Tony’s instincts are telling him to fight, to fly, to do something. He ignores them.

James reaches out a hand, and Tony flinches. James freezes again.

Man and werewolf stare at each other for a long, long moment.

“Jesus. Okay. So. You were on your werewolf period or something?”

Tony growls. Like hell.

“Is this why you’ve been so squirrely?” James asks, and now there’s mischief in his voice. “Are you still, you?”

Tony grumbles, and James snickers.

“Oh, definitely still you. Come here you idiot.” James flops onto the floor, and waits.

Tony eyes him. He isn’t entirely sure what is happening. Maybe James is in shock. He doubts it looks particularly nice in the moments it takes to go from man to wolf, though the change has never hurt Tony. 

James rolls his eyes. “My team consists of a giant monster called the Hulk, who likes pepperoni pizza, a super-soldier, a damn demi-god, and Natasha. You don’t scare me, you big softie.”

Oh. Well, when he puts it that way, Tony thinks maybe he was being a bit silly about this whole thing. Relaxing, he doesn’t approach James yet, but he raises his tail and ears and settles down onto his paws. James doesn’t smell like he’s lying.

After three seconds of further contemplation, Tony remembers just how good James smells and leaps across the room in two quick paces, sprawling across James’ lap. James makes an oofing sound as the wind is knocked out of him - Tony is a little on the short side as a human, but he’s pretty heavy as a wolf. No one calls him a softie and gets away with it.

“There we go,” James says, and his fingers slide through Tony’s fur easily. His metal fingers find an itchy spot on Tony’s shoulder, and Tony lets his tail thump against the floor, once. James obligingly keeps scratching at the spot with his cool hand. He doesn’t comment on the scar Tony knows is only two inches to the left. “How long are you stuck like this?” James asks.

Tony huffs and turns to nose at the watch on James’ other hand, then makes a circle with his nose.

“A day?” James guesses.

Tony shrugs his large shoulders, feeling the motion ripple all the way down his spine.

“So, give or take a few hours. I can work with that. Seriously though, next time, we’re getting a nicer hotel. Or staying in your rooms at the tower.”

Tony rests his head on his front paws, shifting most of his weight back onto the floor as James ran his fingers through Tony’s fur.

“You’re a giant puppy. Oh, your robots make so much more sense now -”

Tony rolls his eyes and huffs.

“Sassy even as a wolf. Why am I not surprised? I’ll have to take you out for proper steaks when we get back.”

Tony freezes. He must have notice lunch, Tony thinks. Shoot.

“I mean, unless you don’t want to!” James says, quickly. “I thought - but, um, nevermind, I guess.”

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, Tony thinks. Leaning upwards, he licks James chin a few times and presses his nose to James’ nose.

James stares at him for a moment after Tony backs off, making Tony’s instincts prickle. Then he leans over and kisses Tony on the nose.

 _Mine_ , Tony thinks in satisfaction, and closes his eyes to doze a little longer.

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted at imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com! :)


End file.
